To celebrate thirty-five years of Gaisce, The President’s Award, the organisation is encouraging people in Roscommon to take up their own Gaisce challenge this autumn and plant a pollinator-friendly bulb to protect one of the most important players in the climate change battle – bees.
If planted in autumn, the bulbs will bloom in spring. The #BulbsForBees campaign is supported by President Michael D. Higgins and the ‘All-Ireland Pollinator Plan’, who have worked with Gaisce to undertake the largest ever pollination project in Ireland. The pollinator friendly bulbs will bloom in spring, creating a variety of flowers including crocus tommasinianus barr’s purple, allium moly, and muscari armeniacum.
Over the next two weeks, over 50,000 pollinator-friendly bulbs will make their way to every post-primary school in the country, as well as Gaisce Award Partners, including disability services, prisons and volunteer centres, all with the help of An Post. Over 300,000 bulbs will also be provided through the Irish Local Development Network for distribution to the wider community and youth sector with support from the Department of Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth. These bulbs will be provided for free.
In Roscommon, community and youth groups can contact Roscommon LEADER Partnership about collecting their Gaisce bulbs while their stock lasts. Members of the public are encouraged to visit their local garden centre to pick up a pollinator friendly bulb to participate in the challenge by October 21st.
You can find out how to participate in the project and how to receive a special commemorative certificate of participation from the Gaisce website.
Commenting in support of the campaign, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins said: “I thank all those who will be partaking in this special Gaisce challenge, who by doing so, make a profound statement of their real desire to protect the life we share on this planet”.
Yvonne McKenna (CEO of Gaisce) said: “We are calling on people in Roscommon to pick up a pollinator bulb and plant it in order to help safeguard the future of our vital bee population. One third of our bee species is threatened with extinction in Ireland. This is because we have drastically reduced the number of flowers they eat and places where they can safely nest. We’re asking everyone, from schools and local authorities, to sports clubs and shops, to come together and create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive”.
Joe Saunders (CEO at the Irish Local Development Network) added: “We are delighted to support the #BulbsForBees campaign by using our links to community groups in every part of the country. This is a fantastic initiative by Gaisce to protect our bee population. We want everyone in the county to participate in their own Gaisce challenge that will protect the future for us all. Just like the Gaisce Award itself, this doesn’t happen overnight. A bulb planted now will need care and attention before it blossoms in the spring, and that’s something wonderful – and important – for everyone to be part of”.
For more information please visit gaisce.ie/bulbsforbees.
